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Best Hero/Heroine Tournament: Finished!

*edit again* meant to ask, but who is James Dean?

While it is true that I nominated Cheif Yagami, he simply does not deserve to win here. I have a lot of respect for the chief, but he falls short when it comes to active displays of heroism. The chief may have been able to win against an easier opponent, but Tohma is too deserving.

*edit again* meant to ask, but who is James Dean?

He is very heroic, very brave, yada yada yada, but these traits are ascribed to him very mechanically, and he doesn't seem to acquire them through any growth process.

Wolfwood was my favorite character from Trigun, and I adore him. But I just don't see him as a hero. He's a good guy--most of the time--but there were just a few too many ulterior motives mixed into his good deeds for me to want to see him advance.

There are times where he is good intentioned, but there are also times where his ulterior motives shine.

Soichiro Yagami had his heart in the right place, but was rather blind about the whole thing at the same time. Thus, vote against him more.

While noble in personality, I didn't see Soichiro do much of anything in Death Note.

But how did such a good man raise such a dastardly son?

Sounds like it might be a lame show, but Touma.

Tohru feels like an artificial human being that is programmed to love and be loved by absolutely every character that happens to be in Fruits Basket. Plus, additional option to splutter words of wisdom by mother does not help.

I want heroic people not heroic robots.

I also think the guide is kind of manipulative in its description of his abilities, because it's not as though he makes some sort of difficult moral decision when he refuses to "destroy all mankind" - simply, that type of thought doesn't enter the equation for him in the first place.

Sure he is a clichéd and generic character

Yes, Vash is a pacifist and this pacifism defines his character, but his reasons for being one are not particularly heroic.

Vash in inherently reckless and he causes a lot of destruction without ever taking responsibility.

His character is also defined by such a strong degree of passiveness that I do not find him particularly heroic as a top tier competitor for this tournament.

Reason: More a vote against Juliet who is...well...

...a cliche "I am woman" character from a bad show. Okay, she's not completely "Rawr! Gurl power!" but it gets pretty close.

Yes, yes, that's exactly it! I am so sick of seeing this character type, especially in settings where, quite frankly, it makes little sense. Juliet's characterization destroyed what could have been an excellent new take on the old story (I loved how they started off with the feud being over and the Montague family having destroyed the Capulets, but Juliet's antics destroyed it).

Also, what do I not know about Astro Boy that he's winning by such a landslide? I've seen only one episode (I think it was the oldest series), so I'm trying not to make hasty judgments, but it seemed like kind of a cheesy show. Is being iconic that much of an advantage?

I hate to seem like a jerk, but I'm starting to get tired of the "no generic shounen hero" reason that some folks have thrown around against Naruto. It seems like a double standard when in last week's voting that Goku dominated in his match while being a "generic shounen hero." Sure I could care less about both DBZ and Naruto. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna completely give such characters the boot when matching up their heroics to other characters.

[A Certain Magical Index] may not be shonen, but Touma strikes me as a guy who, like many shonen heroes, "is good because he's the protagonist of a magical show where he rescues cute girls," a Yukito/Yuichi man with action, adventure and injury at stake to kind of bolster his appeal. If someone can give me examples of what separates this guy from the flat and typical "I like to help others even if it hurts me!" flack, or some other kind of character depth that gives him more stake to do what he does, I'd consider him. As it is, I get the feeling he's too shallow to beat Yagami, who the original author called "the only truly good person in Death Note."

Voting for: Keiichi
Reason: Just to be contrary, but beyond that, Shannon interested me less and sounded more cliche, although both entries sounded similar.

[Referring to Juliet:]I KNOOOOOW. "Strong-willed" women like that, the whiny tarts, are insults to what a real strong woman should be. I can vote for certain characters from bad shows who stand alone with strong traits, but there are some shows out there, let's face it, that are so poor they drag every part within them down. The fact that Romeo and Juliet lost the first round of the Duos tourney to weak sauce should prove how gag-worthy this show is...especially its characterization.

But they're different from Naruto, Yusuke or Ichigo. Yoh Asakura isn't here, but if he was, I'd kinda throw him in there with the rest of them. Outside of the moments where they have to fight to save the world or whatever, are these guys role models, or are they punk-ass kids with motives to "be the best!!!" The answer is the latter, and that's the dividing ground. If they're not honestly admirable characters without the presence of evil to make them do things, I can't vote for 'em. If the only argument of their selflessness comes up as "They would sacrifice their lives to protect their friends/wayward spirits/the kid in the road," I'd argue "That's it? That's a plot device of all shonen, though. On a regular day, they're obnoxious, immature, lazy, swearing barbell-brains."